The Chrysalids: Perception is Molded by Environment Essay -- John Wynd

From the point of conception, a child’s feelings and thoughts are incredibly malleable. However, the question remains whether the environment changes our perception. This essay will delve into how perceptions are impacted by a North American lifestyle, and a lifestyle within the fictional world of The Chrysalids. Although a person has the ability to forge his or her own destiny, the environment plays a large part in shaping our perceptions everyday. Many throughout the world consider North America to offer the greatest quality of life. A myriad of nationalities and cultures have joined together resulting in North America being what it is today. This cultural patchwork has resulted in children being raised differently and developing unique perceptions relative to other countries. Variables that work to alter the American perception include family, education, and opportunities. One of the greatest influences on a person lis their family. For the duration of a person’s childhood, the majority of time is spent with family members. A family sustains a child’s livelihood and they work to determine how a child will mature in the hope of sustaining a successful future. Over this period, family members’ opinions and views wear off on the individual, causing a change in perception. Therefore, while maturing as a youth, family members hold a significant influence on sculpting a person’s perception. Another way in which perceptions can be altered is through education. Education is a building block for all of society; it is the foundation that establishes social interaction and it often determines a person’s future success. During the course of schooling and post secondary education, a person is introduced to an array of diffe... ...ths is limited. The result is a community where conventional thinking is readily accepted and rarely challenged. When comparing the North American society with that of the Waknuk society to determine whether the environment shapes our perception, the answer becomes transparent. Our perception is forever changing due to the environment. In everyday life our family, our education, and our opportunities change our perception. We do not know what is right until we learn alternative sources and develop an opinion on life. Through growing up, our family, education and experiences work to persuade our opinions and alter our perception in everything we do. Our perception can be changed through life as we grow, learn new ideas and gain new experiences, but through the duration of our childhood, our perception is molded into an everlasting building block for our future.

Breaking Out and Stepping Up Essay -- Literary Analysis, I just Wanna

In the stories, I Just Wanna To Be Average, by Mike Rose and The Achievement of Desire, by Richard Rodrigez, a timeline of their educational progress is exposed. Both are the offspring of minimally educated immigrant parents. Who’s families settled into the working-class of California. Without having their parents as scholastic role models, Rose and Rodriguez had to find their own way through the education systems. Despite the lack of supportive social conditions, both Rodriguez and Rose were inspired to surpass the status quo expectations environmentally bestowed upon them. Mike Rose, who wrote I Just Wanna Be Average, started his schooling with a bleak future. His lower class immigrant parents hoped that sending their son to Our Lady Mercy would put him on the track to success and surpass all of his family member’s level of education. Rose shares, â€Å"No one in the family had gone to college; only two of my uncles had completed high school† (166). Unfortunately, Rose ended up in the vocational program. A program that groomed students, not for college, but to better assimilate into the working-class. The vocational track is one that does not pave the way for a bright future. Its graduating class is comprised of underachievers who lack motivation and have no desire to get ahead. The same could be said about Mercy’s staff. Rose paints a picture of his educators by mentioning, â€Å"Civics was taken over by a football coach who had trouble reading the textbook aloud --and reading aloud was the centerpiece for his pedagogy† (163). Surrounded by stubbornly dense students, and less then enthusiastic teachers Mike Rose seemed to not have a chance. Much like Rose did not have the support of an educated role model within his school pr... ... shaped him, Rodriguez explains, †Without extraordinary determination and the great assistance of others --at home and at school -- there is little chance for success† (197). Being able to take the lack of support from his family and be grateful for the roll it played in his personal quest for knowledge is something to be admired. Although coming from different backgrounds, Mike Rose and Richard Rodriguez share a similar passion and lust for knowledge. They both used inspirations and determination to break out of a mold their family history created. Even though their means to academic success differed, the character gained from their individual experiences allowed for a change. Luckily both of these stories have a happy ending. One where both the â€Å"average joe† and the â€Å"scholarship boy† can overcome preconceived expectations and become who they want to become.

Does Democracy Ensure Freedom Essay

Does democracy ensure freedom? I believe democracy can ensure freedom, but not always, thus my answer is maybe. For democracy is a form of government that rely on a system of law in which individuals are treated equally while having fair access to the legislative process through electing official who will act in their constituent’s interest and voice their concern. Through proper protection with legislation, individual’s freedom can be ensured. Yet the nature of democracy favour majority thus it is possible for politician to cater to the mass to secure vote and have access to the seats of power. Democracy is unable to act if the votes are tied, such flaw can leads to politician abuse their power tilting the result either way to further his own goal. If elected official no longer voice the population yet game the system by continue to appease the majority, minority right and freedom can not be ensured. Government ultimately objective is to govern the people for the betterment of people, thus democracy reflects the need for it is form of government allowing people’s voice being heard through the elected officials. Each voter’s vote count and the majority trumps. Elected official then go on legislate laws that regulation that resolves the population’s concern. Such fair access to the legislative process and equality before law ensure the population to be protected, the law are made by them and for them, protecting their freedom and rights. But democracy also follow majorities rule. It is possible for 49% of population to lose out simply because of the 2% difference. Yet if rights are cemented fully protected via charters, even minorities can escape such tyranny. Unfortunately, elected officials can not always complete reflect the desire of the entire population. They are at best incomplete projection if not catering to special interest or simply the mass for the system favours the majorities, and once tied vote occurs. The decision will lie solely on those in power. For few individuals to be able make decision that influence a nation, such power can be attractive if not lucrative, for there is motive and it is not hard to imagine such corruption taking place. Once a politician is no longer serveing the voter but himself, without proper check and balance for the government to self correct such mistake. It is to picture minorities right and freedom being sacrificed for the corrupted official to stay in power. The key all hinges on the soundness of said country’s legal system, if a government official have the power to alter laws, taking away rights and freedom as he pleases. The freedom can not be ensured. Yet, with a proper procedural fair legislative system, the inbuilt checks and balance will stop said corrupted official overstepping his position. The electoral system will kick in which official will be replaced if they do not deliver what is expected off them. With a solid charter of rights, even minority’s innate rights and freedom can be protected against majorities for the inalienable rights protect each of us and allow us to maintain the dignity we all possess. Freedom is the concept that verges upon the condition in which individual live their life accord to their free will. For they make their own choices without facing disabling condition nor the pressure of simply fulfilling the basic necessities of life. We choose how we present ourselves to the world and how we communicate our idea and thoughts. We decide on how to live our life, from our goal to our means of achieving said goals. Yet these seemly innate right are in fact fragile and vulnerable. The nature of government impose rules and regulation with our daily life. Our freedom is merely conditional, for we can only exercise our right and freedom to a certain extent. As matter of fact, our right and freedom can be taken away by the same law that protect our rights and freedom. But that is the truth of reality, freedom without bound is impossible. The physicality of reality impose restriction, scarcity of recourse and mortality of men. Civilization dictates rules from punishment of crimes to shame and guilt through morality. Thus government, a form of rule, can not truly ensure freedom for its conditional and with limits. Men has long realize such limitation, yet we still yearns for such notion for we are driven by our free will and we seek create such system for we are protected from not just each others but ourselves’ own infringement of rights and freedom. Democracy is still our best attempt at this unrealistic dream, the approach is simple, for a system of law made by people for people. We strive to effectively govern ourselves and keep our right and freedom. It is understandable to treat the question â€Å"does democracy ensures freedom ? † in an bifurcate manner. It is easy to state the fact that democracy is simply mob rules thus two wolves can vote having the sheep for dinner against the one lone sheep’s objection. Yet it seems silly to categorize a whole country’s population into a predator/prey relationship, not to mention having a sound legal system in which inalienable rights of human beings are guaranteed can indeed prevent the two wolves ganging up on the sheep, minorities can still be sufficiently protected by law if the charter of rights allows. Further more, freedom can only be secure via proper system of law that protect human right and freedom, types of government should not be the deciding matter for ensuring freedom. As the above paragraphs have shown, democracy either ensure nor deny freedom, while there is no true freedom under any form of government for by definition of government, restriction and restraints are naturely imposed upon individuals. I still consider limited conditional freedom preferable to none for my inalienable right are protected even against the tyranny of majorities for this rights are inalienable. While democracy can allow favour toward the majorities and official in position of power, with proper checks and power established within the government, such issue can be self corrected. But without the legal safenet, minorities can easily been swapped up by politician’s agenda and sacrificed to the tyranny of majorities. As a partying thought, if no form of government can achieve true freedom, what is the future of democracy with our society?

The trails of OZ

* Three editors of a magazine (OZ) were charged on three counts: conspiracy to corrupt public morals, an obscene article, and an indecent object sent through the post. * The edition of the magazine was not a great edition of the magazine. It had descriptions of oral sex and an offensive ‘Rupert the bear’ cartoon strip. * The judge was Michael Argyle Q. C. ; who would impose heavy sentences ‘if the jury convicted. ’ * The jury was drawn from a particular social group (People who owned property); thus none were pre-disposed to the type of journal OZ was. The prosecution had the magazine as its only exhibit and the court was told that it was ‘unacceptable from a family point of view’. * Dr. Edward De Bono is a better defense witness, as he isn’t intimidated and clever as was Dr. Michael Schofield. The trial goes for sic weeks in the summer of 1971 and the courtroom made for great theater. * The judge was not particularly in favor of the more sexual aspects of the trial and has trouble in coming to terms with slang such as ‘sucking’, ‘blowing’, ‘going down’ and ‘yodeling in the canyon’. Robertson goes on to the point out the conservative nature of Judge Argyle including how he has a glass destroyed because a man who once had a venereal disease drank from it. Robertson tells how the case ‘became a collision of cultural incomprehension’ and caused division even among the press. Tension was also increased because of the ritual and formality of the Old Baily Court. * The ritual disguised much theatre behind the scenes in a criminal trial here everything else rehearsed to some extent and perjury was rife. Also the judge was required to take the evidence down in longhand and this made him very important. In this particular case Judge Argyle showed some bias towards witnesses including Ronald Dworkin, an Oxford professor and also Marty Feldman, the comedian, who didn’t take the oath and failed to impress the judge. * The trial was also held under the strictest security with death threats being made against the judge and the court clerk. It turns out the threats were made by the clerk’s wife who was later prosecuted and sentenced to a psychiatric institution. * Towards the end of the trial the defense seems in ‘good shape’ but the sentencing powers of the judge were still a concern. At times the trial came close to arguing that ‘nothing †¦ could deprave and corrupt’. Studies were used to support this argument that were later found to be misleading. * Later it came down to a battle of semantics over the words indecent and obscene and is the depiction of an indecent act the same as the act itself. It is interesting to note that the charge of conspiring to corrupt public morals carried the penalty of life imprisonment. * Richard Neville used Bob Dylan’s ‘The times are a-Changin’ in his final speech but the tone and body language of the judge was against the defense and he makes this very clear to the jury. The jury come back for a definition of obscene and then retires again to decide. They find the defendants guilty on the last two counts. * The judge asks if the deportation papers had been served on Neville and he gets an affirmative reply. He remands them for three weeks for ‘medical and psychiatric reports’. The defendants are taken to prison and have their hair cut off. * At this point the British tradition of modernization came to the fore and many came out against the remand. Eventually on the day of sentencing the judge is unmoved by the protests and sentences them all to jail for varying terms. He also compliments the ‘obscene Publications Squad’ for their good work. * There were protests and an appeal was prepared as was a bail hearing. The appeal judge granted bail seemingly to appease his young daughter and the three were released. At the appeal the Chief judge seemed to be on the side of the prosecution but after lunch he dismissed all charges because he was convinced there was worse pornography out in the streets. * Later the detective in charge of the case said that ‘I’m doing it for out children’. The magazine itself died off and the editors went their separate ways. The result of the trial was that it opened up the way to eliminate political censorship but also a world of commercial exploration of sex. * The Oz trial also ended these sorts of trials and not many prosecutions are conducted anymore. If they are conducted they only serve to add publicity to the individuals on trial. Two examples that Robertson gives are Johnny Rotten’s ‘Never Mind the Bollocks’ trial and the Spycatcher trial. * Robertson finishes the chapter by telling us about the play that he wrote about the case. Michael X on death row Robertson begins this chapter in Trinidad where he is visiting Michael X in the Royal Goal. He is trying to save him from the death penalty that he was sentenced to for murder. Robertson seems motivated by the desire to save his client and fight the death row lawyers are not ‘opposed to the punishment of the guilty’ but rather opposed to ‘human sacrifice’. * He finds little help in common law, which had been made by English judges in the past, and the death penalties handed out over the years had been used as ‘bulwarks of the constitution’. The death penalty was abolished in England in 1964 and judges had wanted the sentence carried out quickly for a variety of reasons. * At the Roal Goal he finds out that Michael X has not been yet executed. Here, on death row, he sees thirsty men in small cells with only a bed and a slop bucket. The lights are kept on permanently and the men were inside the cells for twenty-tree hours a day. Michael himself seemed ‘quiet and self-contained’, while around him raged. * In the prison death warrants are read on Thursdays between two pm and four pm and a condemned prisioner was allowed to order a final mean. The sentence was carried out on the following Tuesday but they allowed a last visitor on the Monday. Michael tells him that they can hear the trap door open as the man is hung. * During the sentence the official party has a sixty-minute breakfast and the body just hangs there. After this it is taken down and the wrists are slashed, as are the tendons in the feet. The body is then buried in the prison grounds and pragmatically in Jamaica in the vegetable garden. The bodies are not released to families. * Robertson seems convinced that his Michael X is not the murderer of four years ago

Susana and the Elders

Susanna and the Elders On my trip to the Norton Simon Museum, a painting labeled Susanna and the Elders, Flemish women Jan Massys, really stood out to me. The specifications of this oil on canvas work of art are 42 x 77-1/2 in. (106. 7 x 196. 9 cm). The painting was made in 1564, during the Renaissance, and portrays an example of the religious tension of that time and reflects the era after the start of the Reformation. My first thought when gazing upon Susanna and the Elders bad things are about to happen; there is two old men hiding behind a planter box and appear to be conspiring an evil plot.These men are dressed in red, which in this case, it must represent last that they are feeling toward Susanna. The focal point is Susanna looking as though she is getting ready for bed or perhaps to take a bath. Also, she is dressed in very nice cloths so appears to be of noble stature. I should also not that she is conntroposto in her posture and the way her cloths fall on to her body. To th e right, there is two women that look as if they are trying to lure her to safety, away from the creepy men behind her. Perhaps they are her loyal servants.This all appears to be taking place in a fancy garden which gives me the idea that she vulnerable in that she is secluded. The men must have planned ahead to sneak up on her out here rather than around other people furthering my suspicion of their cruel intentions. One last thing I noticed was the little statue in the bottom right corner; however, I can’t make much sense of it. I know it means something, but I just don’t get it. If you follow the lines of the stone benches they lead you to a point just beneath Susanna’s head which suggest the use of perspective.The use of lines is evident again when looking at the fine detail in the trees that surround this scene. On, a side note, the tree that the old man is holding on to appears to be minerature in size, as if her is this evil giant. Perhaps this is meant t o symbolize their dominance and her vulnerability. Massys placed the buildings in the background so they are proportional to the balanced figures in the foreground. Also, it looks as if there is use on linear perspective, especially in the stone walls; they look at if they are wrapped around Susanna keeping her safe from these bad men.The light source is coming from the top right of the painting and appears that it is shining directly on to Susana, almost making her this heavenly entity. I think this is a symbol that God will keep her safe from these men. It is a soft light that that allows the colors Massys chose to stand out and add to the chiaroscuro. Though the Chiroscuro is light, Massys makes decent use of it. Susana is lit up signifying that she is pure and innocent and the creepy guys behind the tree are in the shadows giving off the idea that they are evil with malicious intent.The deep blood red that the two guys are wearing is symbolic of their lust for Susanna. Red, I be lieve, sex or passion whether it be good or bad. The gold that Susanna is wearing gives her some authority in the painting and also an angle like presence as gold represents the heavens. The colors seem very realistic and must closely portray what this actual place must have looks like. Everything in the painting looks as if it is overlapping and this adds to the drama. Also, the figures seem to be very strategically placed in the setting.There is Susana in the center, the to evil old men on the left and the maidens on the right giving the scene much balance. It looks as though he may have started from the back of the painting and moved forwads as the object got closer. He probably started with the building in the back and then moved his way up to the human figures. Even though the figures are put fairly close together there is obvious depth. If there wasn’t any perspective in the painting I don’t think it would have depth and would come out rather flat and dull.The pe rception of depth in this work of are seems to be very important in composing the message. The use of color might add some dimension but without depth they would still seem flat and dull. There are many things that suggest motion in this picture. Susanna’s hand is stretched out giving the impression that she is reaching out to them. The maids are pointing at theselves and also where they are going looking as if they are asking Susanna to follow them. They also look rather worried for her safety.The maids are leaning forward while both of their right legs are extended behind them preparing for their next step making a very strong implication that they are walking rather quick. I don’t know if this is just me, but it looks as if the clouds fading into the distance faster than normal perhaps to represent the passing of time and they are golden suggesting the presence of God. I think that the way Massys has the two lurking men staring at Susanna and the two maids looking a t her from the opposite direction make all the characters one.Also their heads all lay on the same plane adding to the composition. The two benches that are on either side of Susanna lead the eye back into the painting so you experience the whole scene. It’s almost as if they are a Ying and Yang; the men want her to do bad things to them and her maids want to protect her and her good name. The creepy looks on these guys’ face give me the impression that they will blackmail the women in to getting what they want from her.Also, unfortunately, they also appear to be powerful men and most likely have the means of doing so rather easily. The look as if perhaps they are part of the clergy somehow, and this ties back to the representation of the corruption going on in this time. Perhaps Massys was Protestant and was trying to convey her view of the Catholic order. Also their heads all lay on the same plane adding to the composition. The two benches that are on either side of Susanna lead the eye back into the painting so you experience the whole scene.

Statistical Tool for Financial Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Statistical Tool for Financial - Research Paper Example However IPOs problems affect not simply corporations but also start-up companies facing plenty of obstacles, including the cost of Compliance with Sarbanes Oxley. Modern corporate finance however unanimously points to a formidable hurdle: Portfolio executives. Considering that the timing of an IPO will be driven by company growth and market conditions, we have based our assumptions for an efficient portfolio strategy on improving capital markets with IPOs hoping to maximise their wealth. With a rapid growth of issuers' activity on the cable markets, expected to continue in the next few years, we have used Time Warner Cable unit for this case study. If Section 1 illustrates and develops the implications of a newly created portfolio detailing executive level strategic financial decisions for the following year, Section 2 is more focused on the concept of decision planning as well as on its effects in case of poor corporate governance decisions. We have based the risk-return characteris tics of our rolling portfolio investment strategy on stocks bought and held for up to one year. Although the average long-run portfolio return is low and in line with market reactions to security offer announcements, this IPO stocks appear as long-shots, securing a buy-and-hold returns of 1,000 percent. In line with average NASDAQ market capitalization our IPO firm exhibits relatively high stock turnover and low leverage, contributing to lower systematic risk exposures. To analyse the implications of these strategic decisions, we have based our assessment on globally acknowledged peer-reviewed research and theory. Our conclusions are finally presented in Section 3. 1. Newly created portfolio strategy and executive-level strategic financial decision making The acknowledgement that flipping is useful in helping to create liquidity may convince an executive team that focusing resources almost exclusively on a few late-stage assets is a wise move. Measuring value and risk at portfolio level can contribute to appropriately capture the portfolio strategic risk and induce executives dissatisfied with the current status quo to analyse if they intend to leave corporate strategic risk management and diversification completely to shareholders and markets or how an independent growth path can be possible in their high-risk business. To analyse these issues it is important to develop a structured approach that helps senior executives better understand the impact of portfolio decisions on risk and value of the corporate or therapy area level portfolios. Therefore we have based our approach on assessing a strategy of purchasing and holding successive IPO stocks receives an expected return commensurable with risk. Usually this can be achieved by crea ting different market scenarios reflecting uncertainty around the product profile and resulting in a Risk and Value plot at the portfolio level. In consideration of the above, we have assessed this portfolio by using the Markowitz two assets portfolio model. Clearly when managing a very active investment portfolio against a well-defined benchmark, the goal of the manager should be to generate a return that exceeds that of the benchmark while minimizing the portfolio's return volatility relative to the benchmark. Assuming a portfolio of assets

Physiology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Physiology - Essay Example The reason is that at higher altitudes, there is lesser amount of oxygen for the body and muscles. Therefore, the excess oxygen will help avoid the early production of lactic acid and keep heart rate lower even when the athlete is working harder at sea level. (Smith, 2005) The trick to high altitude training is a process known as acclimatization. This means that athletes must give time to their bodies to get used to the increase in altitude, and decrease in oxygen levels in the atmosphere. For instance, when an athlete reaches, say 5000 feet, he must spend some days there so that the body acclimatizes to the conditions present there before moving on to higher altitudes. After acclimatization to higher altitudes, when the athlete returns back to sea level, his endurance level and performance is better. As the oxygen levels at higher altitudes decrease, there are a number of changes that the body undergoes in the process of acclimatization. Firstly, the depth of respiration increases. The pulmonary arteries go through an increase in pressure, forcing blood into those parts of the lung which are not utilized under normal circumstances. (Curtis, 1999) Along with increasing the production of red blood cells to carry oxygen, the body also steps up the production of a specific enzyme that eases the discharge of oxygen from hemoglobin to the body tissue. (Curtis, 1999) As we know, the air in the atmosphere consists of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% water vapor, carbon dioxide and other gases. This is the proportion of gases you inhale during normal breathing. However, 6% of oxygen is breathed out together with carbon dioxide and other waste products. (Science Fair 2003: Does Exercise Affect the Amount of Carbon Dioxide Exhaled, 2003) During exercise, the body needs more energy which is provided to it through the chemical reaction of oxygen and glucose. This, in turn, means that during exercise, the body needs more